Free Consultation

Ohio Supreme Court limits sex offender registration for old offenses.

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled multiple parts of the state sex-offender law unconstitutional following its passage in 2008 to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act. The rulings found that sex offenders couldn’t be subjected to guidelines retroactively since that may violate the U.S. Constitution’s due process and double jeopardy clauses.

The latest of three court decisions was an April 3 ruling striking down part of Ohio’s sexual offender law that subjects juvenile offenders to mandatory, lifetime sex-offender registration and notification requirements.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has said it supports prosecution and conviction of sex offenders, but also says they are entitled to some basic constitutional protection.

One registered sex offender living within 1,000 feet of a day care in a Fairborn church was told to move after a Daily News inquiry. The offender had been living in violation since January, when he told officials that his stay would be temporary.

That same offender pleaded guilty in Clark County of trying to solicit sex from a Springfield police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. Authorities found 138 images of child pornography on his computer. He also was found guilty in 2009 in Greene County of illegal use of a minor in a nudity-oriented material or performance.

A registered sex offender who lives near a middle school in Fairborn fought an effort to be removed from his home in 2005, and a magistrate ruled the 1,000-foot rule didn’t apply since he’d lived there for decades before his offense.

Residents can keep track of registered sex offenders by using search engines available on county sheriffs’ websites. Email alerts can be sent by registering on those websites, and cards are mailed out to schools and day cares when an offender moves nearby.